PRESS DIGEST - Wall Street Journal - Aug 15

Reuters Staff

5 Min Read

Aug 15 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories in the Wall Street Journal. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

* Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki relinquished power on Thursday, ending eight years of tumultuous rule and opening a new political chapter that U.S. officials hope will move Iraq towards a more united front against marauding jihadists. (on.wsj.com/1uV9DhL)

* Missouri Governor Jay Nixon put the state highway patrol in charge of security in Ferguson on Thursday in hopes of quelling nightly clashes between protesters angry over a police shooting of an unarmed black teenager and SWAT teams using tear gas. (on.wsj.com/1qb76f6)

* The euro-zone economy stalled in the second quarter, raising the ugly prospect that the region's meager recovery has lost momentum just as it faces fresh headwinds from Russia and Ukraine. (on.wsj.com/1t1A0SF)

* The Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating the auditor of Cynk Technology Corp, the tiny social network that soared to a $6 billion valuation last month and then came crashing back down to earth, say people close to the probe. (on.wsj.com/XlpPhd)

* Swedish appliance manufacturer Electrolux AB has held preliminary discussions about acquiring General Electric Co's appliance business, joining a group of other potential suitors considering a deal that could expand their reach in North America. (on.wsj.com/YaVYby)

* Alibaba Group Holding Ltd's IPO-BABA.N plan for a potentially record-breaking initial public offering is prompting other companies to push back their own stock-market debuts. Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc's Citizens Financial Group Inc has pushed back the launch of its IPO, which was slated for the second week of September, according to people familiar with the matter. (on.wsj.com/1mOTIMo)

* In a risky bid to jolt sagging sales, Coca-Cola Co is paying $2.15 billion to acquire a 16.7 percent stake in energy-drink maker Monster Beverage Corp as part of an asset swap. (on.wsj.com/Xlr4gB)

* Federal regulators are looking into whether a hostile offer jointly pursued by Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc and activist investor William Ackman to acquire Allergan Inc violates securities laws, according to people familiar with the matter. (on.wsj.com/1uTJfER)

* Cutrale Group's bid this week to buy Chiquita Brands International Inc has put Brazil's secretive "Orange King" Jose Luis Cutrale in the spotlight. Cutrale is one of three companies operating in Brazil that account for about 80 percent of global orange-juice exports. (on.wsj.com/1l7PXqI)

* Banks and other financial companies world-wide are issuing bonds in the United States at a record pace, taking advantage of this year's surprising slump in interest rates and a brightening outlook for the sector. (on.wsj.com/1pQnhkA)

* Supermarket chain Supervalu Inc is investigating a potential data breach that might have affected more than 1,000 stores, according to people familiar with the situation, the latest attack against a big merchant in recent months. (on.wsj.com/1vONB4u)

* Apple Inc created the blueprint for a smartphone when it covered the touch screen of its first iPhone in glass instead of plastic. Now, it is betting $700 million that sapphire, a harder and more expensive material, can replace glass and better protect future devices. (on.wsj.com/Yb0Qxc)

* Less than 10 days after Gannett Co Inc said it would separate its publishing business from its broadcasting operations, activist investor Carl Icahn disclosed he had accumulated over the past couple of months a 6.63 percent stake in the company and had planned to push for such a split. (on.wsj.com/1kFuJ2K)

* Alibaba Group Holding Ltd's film-production arm said it had uncovered possible accounting irregularities and would delay the release of its first-half financial results, and suspend trading of its stock while it investigated the matter. (on.wsj.com/1rykThC)

* Consumers may soon be able to pay for their Airbnb rentals or Uber car rides using bitcoin. EBay Inc has been quietly working to integrate acceptance of the virtual currency into its Braintree payments subsidiary, part of its PayPal unit, according to people familiar with the matter. (on.wsj.com/1lZBPKK) (Compiled by Shivam Srivastava in Bangalore)